


One Word

by denilmo



Category: Naruto
Genre: F/M, OTP Feels, no regrets, posted from tumblr
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-31
Updated: 2017-05-31
Packaged: 2018-11-07 01:58:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,904
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11048925
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/denilmo/pseuds/denilmo
Summary: Two short drabbles, two point of views, one word.





	One Word

Grim. 

That was the first word that came to mind as he analyzed his current situation. Kakashi had woken in a field, the scent of damp earth and blood filling his nose, and both eyes gazing upward. There was a pain that roared in his head and clawed at the left side of his face. He fought the lurching of his stomach that came with the pain, and closed his left eye. 

 He couldn’t move his left arm, but could still feel a burning tingle in his hand. His legs felt heavy, as if they had been replaced with iron weights and they were sinking in quicksand. The treetops looked nearly black against the night sky. The moon was behind him, but he couldn’t crane his head back to look at it, and for a moment he wanted to laugh at his immobility, but he didn’t want to risk the pain. 

Testing his right hand, he found he could wiggle his fingers, bend his wrist… his whole arm even. He blindly unclasped his canteen and dripped a bit of water over his face before spilling some into his mouth, nearly choking as he swallowed. He dropped his canteen and gripped at his opposite side as he fought back the coughing fit and the nausea that accompanied it. 

He lay there, taking in what he could see of the glittering sky. It was getting colder and he was vaguely aware of the tremble that worked through his entire body. Bringing his hand up to his face, he felt to be incredibly hot, and he still couldn’t bring any other part of his body to move. He was spent – mentally and physically – and had barely any chakra to boot. 

As morbid as it was, Kakashi had imagined how he’d die many times, but none of the scenarios he had conjured up were like this. He always thought he’d go out in a blaze of glory, or that he’d finally face an opponent simply stronger than he was and it’d be over in a snap, just like that. Instead, he was cold and alone with a blistering fever and he was pretty sure he was losing a fair amount of blood. And best of all, there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it. Slow and agonizing – the kind of departure he never wanted to experience. 

 As the moon rose higher in the sky, he slipped in and out of consciousness. The moments he were awake were spent making sense of the things he saw when he wasn’t.

_An explosion. Fiery eyes. Flashing kunai. Screaming birds. Blinding light. Crippling pain. Crimson… everywhere…_

 His stomach clenched painfully as another chill shook him and he grit his teeth to keep them from chattering. For a moment he could see clearly and he was in awe of the twinkling starlight before everything went black again.

_Green eyes. Gods, they looked so angry – menacing even – and yet he wasn’t afraid. He oddly felt comforted by them._

The moon had moved again and he swatted at an inky black crow that was perched on a fallen log beside him. The sudden movement jarred him and he winced.

_Green eyes. Brimming with tears. Ah, he never had handled tears very well, but for some reason he didn’t mind these so much._

“…kura…”

_Green eyes. And they seemed so happy. Bright, dancing, piercing orbs that filled his chest with a longing he hadn’t felt since he was younger. It made him feel… strangely happy. With her._

“Sa… ku… ra…”

His breaths came shallower as he focused on the sky, the moon no longer visible. Her name fell from his lips again and again, and in some ways it surprised him. 

In others it did not. 

She was his last regret. The one he let slip away because of his own insecurities, because of his sense of duty and obligation to his role – and her loyalty to hers. The one he had resigned to watch from afar because he could – should – never have her. And she didn’t even know. Lying here now, he wished that maybe she had known - known that someone never wanted to walk out on her. Someone wanted to protect her. Laugh with her. Someone did love her, cherish her. Or maybe it was really for the best after all.

Sakura. His last regret in his last moments. It seemed fitting somehow. 

He could make out the sound of quick footfalls, the snapping of twigs ringing loudly in his ears for as deathly quiet as the field was. But he couldn’t keep his eyes open no matter how hard he fought against the sweet beckoning of eternal sleep. There was a voice, but it sounded so far away like he was sinking underwater or floating upward and far away. 

As hands pulled roughly at his vest and shirt all he could think was,  _‘It’s too late… you’re too late.’_

* * *

 

Hopeful.

That was the first word that came to mind as she looked over his current situation. However, three days ago she would’ve thought very differently.

It had been utter chaos escaping the fray, and Sakura wandered the landscape alone like a lost child. But she knew where she was going, she could feel his chakra and would know it anywhere. Naruto gave her a wince and a grin and she set about fixing his jaw with a shake of her head. Afterward, they headed out together to find the others. They found Sai first, nursing his shoulder which had been knocked out of socket.

Sakura set it back in place and then healed his fractured humerus. After the three of them reassured each other that everything and everyone was alright, they began to look for Kakashi. Hours passed and Sakura was growing increasingly worried. She couldn’t speak for the other two, but she was sure they were just as on edge about finding him as she was.

It got colder as the night passed and while she remained focused on finding Kakashi, her inner demons clawed at her. What if he had been captured? He couldn’t have gone too far, so why couldn’t they find him? What if he was being tortured? What if he was severely injured and she didn’t make it in time? What if… she failed to save him?

She shook her head; she couldn’t afford to think like that. She couldn’t let those fears consume her, paralyze her.

“I’ve found him!” Sai shouted.

Sakura had been relieved to hear that one of his birds had spotted him, and they raced through the forest to make it to his side. She was determined to get there, to see him, hear his voice… She hadn’t been expecting to find Kakashi as he was. There was no eye-creased smile, no nonchalant wave of his hand. He was still, unnaturally so, and Sakura bolted off ahead of the boys. She cried out to him, but nothing changed. There was no sound or movement, not even a weak “I’m okay” to quell her rising fear – her deepest fear.

She fell onto her knees beside him, her eyes darting along his body and taking note of his injuries and how his eyes rolled back. She pulled at his flak jacket, alarmed at how cold to the touch he felt. She paused and felt for a pulse, and while it was weak, it was still present. She barked orders to Sai and Naruto as she ripped his shirt open, momentarily freezing at the sight of all the blood, innards not quite so in any longer. Her hand pulled a syringe from her pouch and she administered the typical field cocktail for inflammation and pain relief, and a numbing agent since his wound was so severe she wouldn’t be able to spare any chakra to block the pain.

There were so many things she wanted to say: _Are you stupid? Crazy? How could you do this?! Be more careful! Idiot! Don’t you dare fucking die on me! Please… don’t leave me…You can’t!  Please…_

But she was afraid to say anything, to break her concentration, to break down when it felt like the thin thread she was hanging by was already so frail. Once she mended the wound enough to keep him from losing any more blood, she paused and ripped a part of her shirt off. Naruto poured some water from his canteen onto it and began wiping and patting Kakashi’s face free from blood, sweat, and dirt.

Sakura’s brow furrowed as she looked upon his left hand. His glove had pretty much been decimated but a few fragments remained, singed to his skin. The chakra burn looked downright frightful.

“Is he well enough to be moved?” Sai asked as his brush halted.

“We don’t have a choice. It’ll hurt, but I’ve stopped the bleeding.”

“At least he won’t be conscious for it, then.”

There was a final flick of his wrist and a giant inked bird came to life from his parchment. The trio cautiously loaded Kakashi onto the beast’s back, and then Sakura got straight to work, registering the squeeze to her shoulder that Naruto gave as the bird took to the sky.

Sakura worked on him all the way to Konoha, nonstop. After landing in front of the hospital (and startling those around it outside), Naruto helped carry him inside. Shizune met them with every intention to scold them, but her eyes widened as they fell to the masked nin and she shot quickly into business mode as she called for supplies and back up. Sai assured Sakura that he and Naruto would report in, and Sakura only nodded before rushing off with Shizune, rattling off details.

They worked well into morning, keeping him sedated to pull the remains of his glove off and work what poison hadn’t been metabolized from his body. Although she had previously stopped the hemorrhaging, much of his tissue and organs had to be repaired, and she was uncertain if they could even salvage one of his kidneys. Sakura worked herself to the point of overexertion, and remembered thinking how this man could never make anything easy for her before collapsing from exhaustion.

She woke the next day in a bed next to Kakashi’s.

Even now, as she looked upon his tranquil face, she could remember how her heart jumped that morning, how it sped as she stumbled from her bed, ripping out her own I.V. in the process, to check on him herself. She had to touch him, to feel that he was solid beneath her fingers. She had been so overcome with relief - to find that his skin was warm and that his heart was beating stronger than it had been when they first found him on the cusp of death’s door - that she couldn’t stop the tears from coming.

Her fists closed around the bed sheets as tears blurred her vision and she stifled the oncoming sob. “Idiot,” she mumbled, no venom present in her tone. “Don’t do that again… please…”

She jerked upright at the sudden touch to her arm, eyes wide as she turned to look. Kakashi was looking at her, eye barely open, but open nonetheless, and looking at her. There was a hint of a smile there before they fell close again. She covered his hand with her own and squeezed.

Yes, hopeful was how she felt today.


End file.
